The United Nations said on Thursday it had confirmed the killing of 17 people and the burning of more than 100 houses in Deleij village in the Darfur region of Sudan earlier this week.

The United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur also said 15 people were injured and the violence “occurred during heated clashes between nomads and residents apparently angered by the increase in commodity prices at the local market”.

Opposition medics said “Janjaweed militias” fired live ammunition at civilians on Monday at a market in Deleij, Central Darfur, killing 11 people and wounding 20 others.

The Janjaweed are Arab militias who have been accused of committing atrocities in Darfur, in the west of Sudan, during a civil conflict that started in 2003 and, according to U.N. estimates, has killed up to 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million.